Mathematics, Science, and Instructional Technology

Dr. Sugar to be Honored for Scholar-Teacher Award

February 13, 2015 Ken Luterbach No comments

Congratulations to Dr. William Sugar for being selected as the College of Education’s Scholar-Teacher Award winner. This university award recognizes faculty members who effectively integrate research and creative activity into their teaching. Dr. Sugar has demonstrated excellence in his teaching, has an outstanding record of scholarly work including publications and presentations, and has been able to meld these two accomplishments into his teaching and mentoring at the university. He will be honored on Thurs, March 26th at approximately 2:50 p.m. in the Mendenhall Great Rooms where he will give a short presentation of his work entitled, Studies of Instructional Design Practices: Recent Research and Takeaways.

MSITE Math Education Students Participate in COE Grant Project

January 6, 2015 Ken Luterbach No comments

MSITE Mathematics education students, Lexie Arsenault and Allie Smith participate in grant collaboration with Pitt County Schools and the COE. According to professor, Dr. Rose Sincrope, “Lexie and Allie are top-notch mathematics concentration students. With mathematics and science concentrations, Lexie and Allie are on the 3rd floor of Flanagan a large number of hours in the last three years. Both Allie and Lexie are wonderful members of our MSITE family.” Click here to read more about the grant project they are involved in.

Tis the Season to Start Our MATE Interns Off Right–With Bags of Classroom Goodies!

December 19, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

Mathematics Education faculty presented their second annual Mathematics Education Market Place for BS Mathematics Education senior I interns. The Market Place provides an avenue for faculty to send the senior I interns off to their full-time, senior II internship with resources for teaching. This year’s event featured 20 bundles of resources, one for each student. Given that the bundles were not equal in terms of their composition, students first circulated through the room to examine the treasures before names were drawn randomly from a container. First student chosen then quickly selected her/his bundle, followed by the second student drawn, and on to the 20th student. After the 20 selections were made, there were some additional resources provided for students in reverse order of the initial drawing. Resources for the students included some items that were a part of every bundle (stapler, tape dispenser, scissors, pens, markers, protractors) and then unique items such as books, journals, mathematical games, mathematical tools and manipulatives, calculators, software, etc. Although a number of teachers and mathematics education faculty donated items for the Market Place, special thanks goes to Dr. Maureen Grady for organizing the event and Dr. Rose Sinicrope for generously providing funds for many of the office supplies. $math-market-2$ $math-market-1$

Scholarships ARE Available!

December 17, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

The College of Education Scholarship system is now open for 2015-2016! The College of Education offers more than $200,000 in scholarships every year. Scholarships range from $250 to $7,000 a year! This scholarship process will allow you to apply for all scholarships offered by the College of Education for which you are eligible. Students can access the scholarship system at https://ecu.academicworks.com
This is a new online scholarship system, so the application process may look a little different to you if you have applied in the past. If you have any questions or problems with the application process, send an email to scholarships@ecu.edu .Online applications are due by January 30, 2015 . No paper applications or late submissions will be accepted.

Students will NOT need letters of recommendation for the scholarship application process for this year!

Dr. Brown to Deliver Commencement Address

December 15, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

At Friday’s graduation, Dec. 19, 2014, Dr. Abbie Brown will deliver the commencement address. In his address, Dr. Brown observes that earning a university degree is an exhilarating and satisfying personal investment, and that education helps one see, “the big picture” and more details within that picture. More information can be found in the article by Jeannine Manning Hutson http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/abrown14.cfm

Students Show Competence Working with SMART Technologies

December 10, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

Using a SMARTboard to create lessons and interactive activities is just one way that pre-service teachers show their competence working with technology. The focus of the required, EDTC 4001, is for students to gain competence with both existing and emerging technologies to be able to teach the 21st century learner with high levels of thinking and engagement. Students enjoy their hands-on experiences with SMARTboards:

“Making a Smartboard lesson was one of my favorite assignments I had to complete. I love creating visuals and engagement tools for my students.” Casey Worrell

“One of the greatest tools that I have ever used so far as a student and an intern is the tool called a SmartBoard. I love this tool so much. It is so much better than any paper copy or chalkboard activity. A SmartBoard is an interactive electronic white board that a teacher can use with their students. This board has the ability to allow people to use their fingers and hands to operate it.” Chris Edwards

Additionally, many, many ECU students have contributed their work to the online SMART Exchange, a collaborative network for teachers to share lesson ideas and SMART activities. Way to go!

NASA Scientist Meets with Science Students

November 18, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

On Thursday, November 13, Descriptive Astronomy students had the pleasure of meeting with local scientist, Ryan Danell. Although, as this Greenville resident says, he is not a “rocket scientist,” he does work for NASA. Ryan shared his background as a chemist and his work on a spectrometer that will be used on a Mars rover to be launched in 2018. He provided background information on NASA and explained his personal involvement with the Mars exploration program and how this program has evolved. Students learned of the myriad of ways scientists are involved in space exploration, as well as the long-range planning and vision required for such programs. His first-hand knowledge of the program and personal work experiences interested students and presented them with a unique perspective on space exploration. It was great to learn more about this program from someone with such a personal connection!

IT Faculty and Alums Present at International Conference

November 14, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

The ECU Instructional Technology program was well represented at this year’s AECT (Association for Educational Communication and Technology) International Convention held in Jacksonville, FL, November 4-8. Members of the ECU faculty and masters program alumni shared their current research and participated in a variety of AECT organizational activities.

Professor Abbie Brown expressed great pride in ECU’s representation at the event, “It was deeply gratifying, and just plain fun, to see our alums engaging with the international community of instructional design/technology.”

Highlights of the convention included a prominent display of Dr. Sugar’s most recent book, Studies of ID Practices: A Review and Synthesis of the Research on ID Current Practices (published by Springer); Dr. Abbie Brown’s receipt of an Immersive Learning Award for the podcast series, Trends & Issues in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, & Learning Sciences; Dr. Slagter Van Tryon’s management in organizing the PacifiCorp instructional design competition; Dr. Strycker’s leadership in the Teacher Education Division; and Dr. Luterbach’s research presentations, one of which was a collaborative endeavor with alumnus Ken Hubbell.

21 Math Ed Students Attend NCCTM Conference and Share Posters

November 14, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

The North Carolina Council Teachers of Mathematics held their state conference Oct 30-31, 2014 in Greensboro, NC. A delegation of 21 Senior 1, secondary mathematics education students were among those representing ECU as attendees at this event. Upon their return from the conference, these students created posters highlighting several interesting or useful ideas gleaned from the sessions and workshops. On Tuesday, Nov 11, 2014, these students hosted a special Gamma Student Chapter event to share their posters with other mathematics education students and faculty. Over 50 mathematics education students and faculty attended the event. The Senior 1 students talked to visitors about their posters and experiences at the conference. The active engagement between presenters and attendees provided participants with a greater appreciation of the exciting happenings in North Carolina mathematics education.

SEADAP Begins with Outreach to Local Teachers

November 10, 2014 Ken Luterbach No comments

The Science Education Against Drug Abuse Partnership (SEADAP) Program recently invited educators and administrators from Pitt and Martin county public schools to participate in four professional development sessions. The participants were provided information to implement lessons based on the research of Dr. Scott Rawls from Temple university related to drug addiction and withdrawal on planaria. Dr. Rhea Miles, SEADAP key personnel and guest speakers from the local community came to East Carolina University to educate and encourage these middle school teachers to implement a curriculum to affect student knowledge about biomedical research.

Recent Posts